May Queen
by Ella.R25
Summary: Lillian Isley is forced to return to Gotham on a quest for bloody revenge. When she crosses paths with Bane, she begins to question the choices she has made in life. The lines between wrong and right become blurred for both parties, but will this have any affect on the success of 'Gotham's reckoning?
1. Chapter 1

**Gotham, Arkham Asylum, 2004**

She heard the jangle of keys and heavy footsteps approaching her cell, then, keys turning in numerous locks before the hefty metal door swung open with a clunk. She sat up on the bed, if that word was suitable for the solid mattress she'd spent the night on, and swung her legs over the side. She eyed the man expectantly as he stepped inside, the guard was a similar age to her, early twenties maybe, skinny with jet black hair and a timid demeanour. He looked at her and his lips twitched into a nervous half smile, she returned it with one of her own which seemed to relax him slightly. Enough for him to slowly walk to the middle of her white cell and place a tray of food on the floor, her smile faded as she watched him. Even in the half a minute she'd spent in his company she'd decided he did not deserve to die, he was just a kid doing his job, he was a human being. No, he did not deserve to die. But he would have to.

He straightened after depositing the tray and nodded, again with a smile on his face. She wished he wouldn't smile at her, that he wouldn't offer her kindness when most of the guards would mock her current situation. He was making it difficult.

He turned to leave and she sprang to her feet. "Wait." He turned back and she quickly grabbed his hand, his eyes met hers and she could see he had already melted in response to her touch.

"Would you do something for me?" She smiled sweetly and used her free hand to twirl a strand of fiery red hair around her finger.

"Anything." He replied without hesitation.

"Shut the door." She whispered in his ear.

He complied instantly, the woman ensuring their hands stay clasped while he did so, he turned back once the door was locked and smiled lovingly at her.

"Good. Now take off your uniform and give me your keys." She ordered shakily, losing some of the confidence in her voice.

He nodded and removed his hat, he kicked off his shoes and fumbled with the buttons on his shirt. He tried to tug his hand away from hers to speed up the process but she clung onto it.

"Allow me." She began unbuttoning his shirt with shaky hands and slid it off his free arm, she then held onto the hand which was free of the shirt and repeated the process, making sure their skin was constantly in contact. He watched her in a trance like state as she unclasped his belt buckle, he pulled down the zipper and his pants pooled around his ankles, he stepped out of them eagerly.

"The keys are on the belt." He mumbled, smiling dumbly at her.

"Thank you." She whispered and moved her hand to trail a finger up his bare arm until it reached his face, she placed a hand either side of it and looked squarely into his blue eyes. Tears gathered in the corner of her own eyes and she smiled sadly.

"Please forgive me." With her plea, she brought his face down to hers and kissed him, squeezing her eyes shut before she let go. He dropped to the floor, convulsing violently at her feet. A tear escaped and slowly slid down her cheek to meet her now emerald green lips and she wiped it away as she looked at the dead guard at her feet. Pursing her lips to hold back more tears, she stepped over his body and began to peel off her bright orange jumpsuit. She stepped into his trousers and pulled them on to belt them high around her waist, next she threw on his shirt and buttoned it, tucking it into her baggy pants. She rolled up his socks and placed them inside his shoes and then followed with her feet. She shrugged on his jacket and twisted her hair before placing the hat on her head to keep it in place. She tucked a few loose strand of wavy red hair into the cap and adjusted the peak to shield her face.

She glanced at the man and sighed, she slowly got to her knees by his body and clasped her hands together in prayer, closing her eyes.

"O loving and kind God, have mercy. Have pity upon me and take away the awful stain of my transgressions. Oh, wash me, cleanse me from this guilt. Let me be pure again." Her eyes opened slowly to take in the guards face one last time, she leaned over to place a quick kiss to his forehead then crossed her chest.

The cell door slammed behind her and she straightened her posture, before strolling carelessly through the prison's corridors, whistling as she went. Another prison guard stared at her as she passed him but she just nodded at him and smiled before returning to her whistling, this seemed to relieve the guard of any suspicion and he smiled back. She carried on, throwing a few more confident acknowledgements to the passing staff and she scanned her dead guard's key card at the exit to let the large, iron door slide open. Stepping out, she stared at the large gate as the door slammed to a close behind her. There was one man guarding the gate, his eyes scanning her from head to toe as she approached him.

"I.D" He ordered curtly when she reached him.

She smiled and reached in to her coat pocket but then patted the various pockets of her uniform, feigning confusion.

"I just had it to open the exit, what the hell?" Did I drop it? Can you see it anywhere?" She asked in panic, her eyes roving over the floor, she felt his guard drop behind her as he helped in her search and swiftly turned to grab his wrist. He looked into her eyes as they shifted from a pale shade of green to a deep, glistening one and just like that, he was under her spell.

"Open the gate." She demanded and without a beat he signalled at the tower and the gate buzzed as it opened. She dropped her hand and hurried through before he came back to his senses. She was free.

She waltzed down the street adjacent to the prison wall smiling victoriously and took her hat off, she threw it into the road and ruffled her long hair, setting it free. She came to an abrupt halt by a waste bin, noticing a recently discarded newspaper resting on the trash. She sidled over and picked it up, unfolding it and reading the headline. Her eyes widened and she couldn't stop the grin forcing its way onto her face.

**"WHO IS POISON IVY?"**


	2. Chapter 2

**Gotham City, 8 Years Later.**

When Lillian escaped Arkham Asylum eight years previous she left Gotham the very same night and vowed never to return. She promised herself this purely because she knew she would be hunted down and she was never going to be put into a cage again, she would do whatever it took to avoid _that_ particular scenario. Most people would leave Gotham and consider it an escape, but despite her bad experiences while living in the city, it still felt like home. She still loved it, she just despised the people.

So here she was, strolling through the grim, noisy streets once again. But she had changed that was for sure, the old Lillian who raged silently over the corrupt, power hungry men and women sitting comfortably in their penthouses and mansions had been freed. And she wanted to make them suffer. Lillian Isley was no more, Poison Ivy had taken her place.

As she manoeuvred through the crowds, all heads turned in her direction; some in awe and lust, most in shock and pure panic. Before, she had hidden from the world but now she was proud to be different, her appearance was a warning to world. Her flame red hair was wavy and thick, reaching down to the small of her back and bouncing around her face as she walked. Vines covered her chest shaped in strapless crop style top, showing off her toned stomach. She wore tight khaki green combat trousers and high heeled brown boots which laced up to just below her knees. She walked gracefully, swaying her hips with each step but the beauty of her was overshadowed by the blood splatters on her otherwise angelic face and the automatic rifle she held pointing towards the sky, resting the butt on her shoulder.

She knew she had been careless but her desire revenge was currently far greater than the fear of getting caught. She expected imprisonment, she just couldn't bring herself to care any more. Her original reasons for leaving Gotham were now void.

She turned down a deserted alley, the noise of the traffic and people drowned out by the sound of her heels echoing around the walls. She stopped dead when she sensed someone near, turning her head slowly and squinting her eyes to the man who faced her. A lone cop stood, his pistol in front of him and poised to shoot, she tilted her head quizzically. He wasn't imposing or threatening, if anything he looked unsure of his own capability to pull the trigger. He was average height, average weight with deep brown hair and matching eyes. The only thing that wasn't so average was his face itself, he was good looking that was certain, but good looking didn't scare easily. Was this Gotham's finest?

"DROP YOUR WEAPON." He yelled and Ivy smirked in response.

Her smirk dissipated however when his eyes began to reflect flashes of red and blue and she looked over her shoulder to see four police cars blocking her path. She looked back to him as two more screeched to a stop behind the young officer and car doors began to open and slam around her.

"DROP YOUR WEAPON." He repeated, edging closer to her warily. "NOW!"

She very slowly bent to the floor to lay her rifle on the ground, holding eye contact with him while she did so. She dropped to her knees and lifted her hands to place them on the crown of her head, grinning sinisterly as he rushed to her side. He kicked her gun to the side and stood to look down at her, an unknown officer cuffing her hands behind her back as she stared back.

"Poison Ivy." He stated to himself as he looked her over.

She rolled her eyes.

"John Blake." He introduced with a nod. "We're gonna be great friends."

It took Ivy nowhere near the time it took to escort her to Black gate penitentiary and place her in an interview room to realize that herself and John Blake were not going to be great friends. It took her about naught point five seconds to come to that blindingly obvious conclusion, what he'd said had been cop speak for "We have you in the palm of our hands and we're going to take full advantage of that."

She stared at said John Blake as he sat opposite her with a bored look on her face and her arms folded across her chest. They'd been sat like this for a good ten minutes of silence.

"Am I going to be questioned?" Ivy finally asked. "Or is this a really awful attempt at psyching me out?"

"We're waiting on Deputy Commissioner Foley." He answered with a smirk. "Why? You have somewhere you need to be?"

A look of disdain crossed her features at his joke. "Nice to know you cops still have your cliché wisecracks, even if you don't have any control over your city."

She lifted a hand to tuck her hair behind her ear then met his eyes, suddenly her brow furrowed and she leaned forward to rest her elbows on the table between them.

"Deputy Commissioner?" She asked and he nodded back at her. She scoffed and giggled to herself. "Well aren't I special?"

"No, just your run of the mill psychopath. You're dime a dozen in Gotham." He spat out.

She gasped in mock offence and jutted her bottom lip out then dropped her hand lazily on the table. She wriggled her fingers, edging further to his hand and Blake stood instantly. Almost succumbing but realizing her game just in time. She sat back in her chair and resumed her original position, a sly grin forming on her face as she watched him pace the floor nervously.

The door swung open suddenly and 'Foley' nodded to Blake before they both took a seat opposite the red haired woman. There was a pregnant pause as both Ivy and Foley observed each other, the Commissioner was the one to break the silence.

"So you're Poison Ivy." He sneered, more of a statement than a question and Ivy widened her eyes, she looked down to the vines that covered her chest and then back at him.

"What gave it away?" She sighed deeply as he opened his mouth to retort and held up a hand to cut him off. "Can we just cut to the chase? I'm here. You've got me. So press the big red button on your tape recorder and let's get this over with."

"Believe me, there's nothing I'd like more." He smiled and leaned forward in his chair, he pressed eject on the recorder at his side and laid the blank tape in front of her. "But this part of the interview is off the record, Miss Isley."

"We want to do a deal." Blake clarified to an expressionless Ivy and she scoffed.

"I don't make deals with cops."

"Oh, you'll make this one." Foley grinned confidently. "I can keep you out of Black Gate, which is generous considering you spent the last 48 hours slaughtering extremely respected members of our society. Let's see...two military officials, two government officials and a well-known weapons manufacturer. You should learn to pick your battles, Miss Isley, Gotham won't take kindly to you murdering upstanding and heroic men such as these. If you go back to Black Gate for this, you may never come out again."

There was a beat of silence but then she broke out into fits of hysterical laughter, Foley and Blake looked to each other for answers as she carried on laughing. After half a minute her laughing subsided and her eyes flitted from one man to the other.

"Upstanding? Respected? Heroic!?" She lunged forward onto the table, looking the Commissioner dead in the eyes. "Are those the words you'd use for those men? Cowardly, selfish...inhuman, those are the ones I would use."

Foley opened his mouth to talk. "No, I'm talking now. You want something from me? Then you're going to listen to _my_ story." Foley's mouth snapped shut and Ivy took this as her signal to continue. "When I escaped from Arkham last year I made a vow that I would _never_ return to Gotham and I meant it. I found myself an Island in the Caribbean and I made it my home. It was beautiful, completely unspoiled, untouched by human hands and it. Was. Paradise. My own private Eden to enjoy with the only people I cared to invite."

She stared off, seemingly right through them as she thought about her home. Tears sprang to her eyes and her sadness shifted quickly back to anger.

"Imagine how it felt when your 'upstanding' government officials and your 'respected' weapons manufacturer decided to test their bombs and missiles out on my home. A peaceful, unexplored corner of the earth reduced to nothing but ashes by your 'heroic' military. They destroyed something amazing, they stole away the only time I've ever been truly happy and they killed my friends. So I killed _them_."

Her eyes were dark, engulfed with burning hatred and Blake nodded in understanding, knowing full well that Foley would probably mock her pain, which he guessed she wouldn't appreciate.

"Regardless of your reasons, Miss Isley, five lives have been taken."

Her eyes once again glazed over and her bored, careless demeanour returned. She ignored Blake's good cop routine and turned to Foley.

"Okay, Commissioner. I'm curious, what are the terms?"

"I want to know where Bane is."

Her emotionless eyes widened with a mixture of confusion, surprise and elation at the name.

"Bane?" She repeated questioningly.

"Yes, Bane." Blake once again piped up, "Word on the street is you two have histor-"

"Ancient history." She corrected, cutting him off. "Look, I haven't seen Bane in almost twelve years. Up until thirty seconds ago I assumed he was dead. I have no idea where he is, who he's with or what he's planning...But if he's planning something I suggest you run as far as you can in the complete opposite direction, okay?"

Foley laughed heartily but Blake remained stony faced, unlike his superior, he felt the woman was someone to take seriously. She was the only one who knew anything about their current 'problem' and considering the police force currently knew jack shit, she was definitely important.

"We're not gonna run from some crackpot terrorist." Foley chuckled and Blake closed his eyes. _Good one Commissioner, make fun of our only hope._

Ivy gave him a look of disbelief and rested her elbows on the table, suddenly smiling. "There's your first mistake. Bane isn't your average 'terrorist' and he's certainly not crazy, if you think either of those things then you've already lost. He's smart, like, genius smart. He's got more brain cells than the whole of the GCPD put together and a lot more muscle. It might have been a long time since I saw him, but he was strong then...he'll only be stronger after what happened."

"What happened to him?" Blake asked curiously.

"I'm not going to tell you that." She snapped. "You don't need to know his past, you're just interested in the present, right? And I can't give you anything."

Foley pinched the bridge of his nose and squeezed his eyes shut, silence descended the three before he opened them again with a deep sigh. He looked back at Ivy with a clenched jaw.

"What if I said I could keep you out of Black gate, give you a chance to find him and relay information back to us? Would you do it?"

"No." she replied with no hesitation.

Foley scowled. "Why not?"

"I hate Bane." She declared causing Foley to frown deeper. "He did something I cannot forgive or forget and I hate him for it. But we were close once, he saved my life and that is a debt I can never repay. So if you're asking me to betray Bane so that I can have a life, the answer is and always will be no. Because my life is owed to him."


	3. Chapter 3

It dawned on Ivy after a few short days that her means of escaping Black Gate was looking very limited. She had her own secure cell, away from the other criminals and, if the protective clothing was anything to go by, the prison guards weren't taking any chances when it came to her manipulative talents.

After they had forced her at gunpoint to remove the vines which enveloped her body, they'd dressed her in a bright orange jumpsuit which she despised because it clashed with her red hair and led her through the corridors in cuffs to her new cell. She had attempted to memorize every minute detail of the journey as they pulled her through the maze of identical hallways, but even Ivy's genius mind had failed to keep up with the palm scans and key codes that were needed to access her block. When the door slid to a close with a high pitched beep Ivy had watched helplessly. Her cell was brilliantly white from floor to ceiling with no windows, just harsh artificial light, a bed and a camera in one corner of the room, recording her every move. She'd cried that night, this was the most isolated she'd ever felt and the lack of sunlight made her revisit parts of her past she'd spent years repressing. Her only comfort was that they didn't know everything about her, they were still unsure of the extent of her powers and that gave her the upper hand. She could find a way to escape. And she would have to do it soon, before the lack of natural light drained her energy completely.

She was sat on her bed against the wall, her knees pulled up to her chin when the shrill beeping sounded in her room. Three armed guards stepped in, dressed like they were in a quarantine zone. They wore jumpsuits that covered every inch of their skin, white gloves, goggles and gas masks. She really did have them spooked.

The middle man removed his mask, revealing the familiar face of John Blake and Ivy rolled her eyes.

"Officer Blake, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

He nodded in greeting and moved further into the room. "We've found a psychiatrist who is willing to work with you, given your consent."

"How nice of you!" She remarked with sarcasm. "Someone to listen to me rake over my troubled past and tell me why I'm such a bitch." she scoffed and looked at him with disdain. "Thanks, but no thanks. I already know all the answers."

"She is willing to come in here armed, but unprotected."

"And? What is that? Some ridiculous psychology method where just because she doesn't wear the stupid goggles and masks I'm supposed to think that she trusts me? It's still a no." She stood from the bed and turned her back to him.

"You must be aware that you're been held a lot more securely than the other prisoners. You're not dumb, Ivy, I know that. I know you're smart enough to know how this psychology stuff works, but would it hurt just to humor it? Must get awful lonely in here, I bet it would be nice to have a conversation with someone without the masks and the handcuffs...You are only human after all." He paused, staring at the back of her head before he sighed and made to leave.

"Okay." She spoke without turning to face him. "Send her in."

He nodded at the two guards and they left, a petite blonde woman stepped in to take their place and she gave a smile to Blake, he eyed the back of Ivy with uncertainty then he joined the other guards outside, closing the door behind him to give them some privacy.

"How ya doin' Lily?" Ivy's eyes narrowed and she slowly pivoted to face the woman.

Lily couldn't believe who stared back at her. The blonde clutched a pile of binders to her chest with one hand, a pistol cocked and aimed at Ivy's torso in the other with a wicked smirk on her face. The face Ivy had recognized almost instantly as Harleen Quinn. Her blonde hair was pulled into an immaculate but simple up do and a pair of black rimmed glasses rested on the tip of her nose, a red shirt and black pants peeked out from under the white lab coat she was wearing and Ivy absent mindedly wondered how the hell she even achieved her degree.

"Harleen!" She exclaimed and started forwards, holding her arms apart to pull her old friend into a hug.

"Ah ah ah." The blonde quickly raised the gun and rolled her eyes to the left to remind Ivy of the camera. "Eye in the sky, remember?"

Ivy dropped her arms and attempted to hide her surprise, she went to sit on the bed and watched as Harleen pulled a chair across the room to sit in front of her. She placed her files on her lap and pretended to go through them, Ivy looked on with suspicion.

"Are you bugged?"

Harleen giggled. "Ya think I'd be here if I were? Nah honey, it's just you an' me."

Ivy relaxed but rubbed her face with her palm. "But what are you doing here...I mean...how...I don't understand. What is this?"

"I'm here to analyse you, silly." Harleen laughed somewhat manically.

"But when I last saw you, you were helping The Joker. That's how this whole mess starte-"

"NO!" Harleen snapped with venom. "It started when ya tried to murder him in his cell."

"I was worried about you, I was trying to help."

"Yeah well, I never asked for ya help, ya interfered." Harleen drawled in her thick Boston accent, she took out a note pad and began to scribble nonsense onto the page. "Anyway...I forgive ya."

Ivy rolled her eyes, eager to retort but she bit her tongue. "Thanks." She said begrudgingly. "So, did you not go through with your grand plan?"

"Uh huh, and it would've been brilliant if it weren't for Batman." She spat his name like poison. "My guy's back in Arkham...for now. See, Joker said it'd be better if no one knew I was rootin' for 'um, and he was right! Much more benificial for us to have the inside scoop on Arkham and this dump."

She giggled again and Ivy became unsettled by her friends' behavior. When Ivy met Harleen at Gotham University, she had been a timid and shy individual, more into studying than anything on the wilder side of life. Ivy knew that she, herself, had changed but Harleen was barely recognizable. She seemed unhinged, her laugh wasn't joyful or genuine it was manic, her smile was nothing but a wicked grin and her eyes were cold, doing nothing but sizing her up. On closer inspection, Ivy noticed the scars which had been covered by layers of foundation and powder, the most prominent ones by the corners of her mouth.

"The boyfriend give you those?" Ivy asked, pointing a finger to her own mouth.

Harleen dismissed the question with another smile. "We only have ten minutes, sweetie an' I ain't here to reminisce. I had a very special visitor yesterday, one that's plannin' on breakin' your skinny ass outta 'ere."

Ivy's eyes snapped up, stunned. "Who?"

Harleen closed the notepad she had been doodling in and rested her elbows on her knees, leaning in closer. "I can't say. He wants it to be a surprise an' I just love surprises!" She giggled mischievously. "All ya need to know is that someone is watchin' ya back, someone that ya lucky to have fightin' ya corner. It'll be soon, I dunno when but ya don't have to worry."

"Good luck, Lily" Harleen said and rose to her feet, leaving a dumbstruck Ivy to her thoughts.

"Harleen." The blonde doctor paused and Ivy also stood, taking small steps to her friend. "If I was walking out of here and straight into something worse, you'd tell me, right?"

She smiled and Ivy recognized this one as genuine. "We may not be friends anymore, honey, but I ain't your enemy...an' its Harley Quinn now." She winked at Ivy and signalled at the camera


End file.
